The idea was to attach a mirror to the ceiling above my bed and equip it with red ambient lighting to create that special mood.

To minimize the amount of work (drilling holes) I decided to *hang* the mirror from the ceiling which merely requires two hooks in the ceiling and four hinges on the mirror.

The hinges are fixed with 3 screws each. The screws have a diameter of 4mm and the holes were pre-drilled to 2.5mm. The screws on the outside of the mirror are 30mm long, while the ones on the inside of the mirror are 20mm long (otherwise they would stick out on the front side). The hinges were bent with pliers to be able to attach the chains.

The chains hang from two hooks (6mm holes with 6mm pegs and 4mm hooks). During the attachment it was helpful to mark the chains with colored tape to make sure all have an equal length. Since the mirror only weighs 12kg this results in load of 6kg per hook and 3kg per chain/hinge. I am confident that the drill/screw sizes I chose will easily support these weights.

The led strip is a custom solution from my local led store. It has a max power of 7w per meter and comes with a remote which allows one to dim it and change the color. It comes with an adhesive backside and is easy to glue to the back of the frame (clean the frame with rubbing alcohol before gluing the led strip to guarantee good contact). The led strip isn’t flexible enough to bend it around 90 degree corners. Don’t worry if the strip sticks out at the corners.

The power supply is fixed to the backside using double-sided tape. Make sure it’s centered, otherwise the shift in the center of mass will tilt the mirror. Ideally, use a level to find the perfect spot before gluing it.

Since I didn’t have any free light socket I opted for a normal cable with plug, but you could easily connect the led strip to a light socket in the ceiling, without any (ugly) cables protruding form the sides of the mirror.

At 7w/m the led strip is bright enough to do pretty much anything in a bedroom (9m2), except for reading. At lower dim levels and different colors one can create many great moods. The indirect/omnidirectional quality of the light makes one feel incredibly cozy as it creates a very soft lighting without harsh shadows.

With a more powerful led strip (14w/m) this could also easily become the only light source in a small bedroom (~10m2).